{"id":15574,"date":"2019-11-05T10:53:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T10:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vr-room.ch\/?p=15574"},"modified":"2019-10-29T15:03:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T15:03:00","slug":"robo-haut-soll-virtual-reality-echter-machen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vr-room.ch\/en\/2019\/11\/05\/robo-haut-soll-virtual-reality-echter-machen\/","title":{"rendered":"Robo-skin to make virtual reality more real"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at EPFL in Lausanne have developed an artificial skin that you can put on yourself. It reacts directly to body movements and activates our sense of touch.<\/h3>\n
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We could soon be able to feel virtual spaces with an artificial skin: researchers at the \u00c9cole polytechnique f\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne (EPFL)<\/a> have developed an artificial skin. It is made of silicone and electrodes and is so flexible that it can adapt to the wearer's body. As a second skin, the invention could revolutionise virtual reality, for example. The researchers have described how it works in the journal Soft Robotics.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Interaction of sensors and motors<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
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The Robo-Skin uses pressure and vibrations to create a tactile sensation that is as realistic as possible. This is made possible by a combination of sensors and small moving parts, known as actuators.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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These actuators form a soft layer that can be inflated with air - with different pressure intensities and different frequencies. The fastest frequency, 100 pulses per second, leads to a feeling of vibration. In this way, our real skin is made to believe that it is touching something.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Harshal Sonar, the lead author of the study, says in a press release: \"The artificial skin is ideal for wearable applications. For example, to test a patient's depth perception\". This is the term used to describe the ability to perceive spatiality and depth.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Therapy and virtual reality<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
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So far, the technology has only been tested on fingers - but it is to be developed further. The next step is a wearable prototype that could be used for virtual reality - or medical therapies. The artificial skin could add a new sensory dimension to VR. Studies have shown that tactile stimulation can help train the ability to move parts of the body. For example, when an arm is paralysed after a stroke.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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According to Harshal Sonar, further investigations are already planned: \"The prototype is also being tested in neuroscientific studies, where it stimulates the human body while researchers measure brain activity.\"<\/p>\n